The title of the chapter certainly fits well with what Shippey goes on to explain. I was really surprised at how in-depth Tolkien takes a reader by the Simarillion. I think I have the book in my posession, but I haven’t yet read it…maybe I will…
The sarcastic remark that Shippey quoted fits my first impressions of the book well; it’s a virtual “telephone directory for the elves”; when I opened it, and began to read, there were an awful lot of names and crazy history that I think turned me off. Shippey, by talking about it, is making me interested again.
Also, as he describes things, I gain a new appreciation for what Tolkien has done. Everything seems to fit together really well, I can understand how it took him his whole life to create it all. For instance, he spoke about the three “hidden kingdoms”, and from my research, I recognized Turgon as the Elven King who owned Glamdring (the sword) before Gandalf so many years ago…it was a ‘lightbulb’ moment.
Finally…Shippey explains the tale of Turin, and how all die tragically. First of all; it seems…Romeo + Juliet-like to me…but I don’t know Shakespeare very well at all, so maybe I’m mistaken. Secondly, and the reason I mention this at all: is that Tolkien once again gives a weapon a spirit of its own. Turin asks his sword if it will kill him for all the wrongs he’s done. And it actually responds to him, saying: “Yes, I will drink thy blood gladly, that so I may forget the blood of Beleg my master, and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly, I will slay thee swiftly.”. Throughout my research, I’ve found that Tolkien likes to match characters to their weapons. And I feel that following this pattern Turin’s sword is saying what he, himself, is thinking. That he wants to die so he can forget everything he’s done.
Joseph Bella? November 13, 2008, at 02:50 PM
